How do you celebrate?

I’m having a lazy morning.  After all, it is my birthday, plus it’s a rainy morning with the promise of snow by dinnertime.  It’s the perfect morning for laziness.

So I will drink my morning coffee and answer the questions posted on Barb’s blog for your reading enjoyment this morning.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  A little bit of both.  After a while, I get really tired of wrapping.  Whatever I have left at that point gets shoved in a bag.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial in our house.  My mom got it for us for our wedding shower and it still looks great.  Some of my greatest childhood christmas memories were from going out to the tree farm and digging our own live spruce every year, though.  I feel a secret twinge of guilt every time I assemble ours.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually ends up being 2-3 weeks before Christmas.  This year the tree went up last weekend, lights and decorations yesterday.  See previous post.  🙂

4. When do you take the tree down? Um…  February-ish?  Only sometimes an exaggeration.

5. Do you like eggnog?   Ugh.  Yuck.  Ptooey.   I’d much rather have some spiked Wassail.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A 3 ft. long Barbie camper.  The same year my brother got the 6 ft long GI Joe aircraft carrier.  They came with 675,942 decals each and my dad put them all on, swearing a blue streak for hours as he put tiny labels on miniature soup cans.  Hilarity!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad.  This year I’m thrilled with his gift, though.  Can’t wait to give it.

8. Easiest person to buy for? The kids.  Amazon directly to my door.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes.  Received it for the same bridal shower.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.  Every year I joke they are more like Happy New Year Cards.  They all get out eventually!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing really heinous, actually.   A few sweaters that weren’t my taste, perhaps a decorative pillow or two.

12. Favorite for Christmas dinner? My mom makes prime rib every year.  Tastes great and it’s a welcome switch from ham.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Never before Thanksgiving!  Each holiday celebrated individually, please.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Round robin exchanges or gag gifts only.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade buckeyes and my grandma’s peanut brittle.

16. Lights on the tree? White, and lots of ’em.   Our 7 1/2 ft. tree averages 2300-2500 lights each year.   I run a 9 outlet extension cord up the center of the tree, and hide a power strip for the bottom.  It’s a sickness.  I blame my father.  This year, I deliberately scaled down to 1800 for time reasons and it about killed me.  I am a Griswold at heart.

17. Favorite Christmas song? “Silent Night” at the candlelight service.  Although I harbor a secret love of all the spoof songs.  (“The Restroom Door Said Gentlemen” is an old favorite)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both, depending on the year

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning.  Love the suspense!

So there you have it.  Answers to 20 questions you never knew you wanted to know about me.  May “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” never get stuck in your head this holiday season!

Until next time…
C.